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Paul Wolf:
There's an HBCU - Historically Black College and University - in the City With Soul. You might have heard of it. Jackson State University? Their football team has been in the spotlight over the past few years, so you think there'd be high expectations when things change in the coach's office. And don't get me wrong. There are expectations. But the new head coach says, "I'm going to do it my way."

Hey, it's Paul Wolf with a front row seat to conversations on culture from Jackson, Mississippi. We call our podcast Soul Sessions. It's the people, places, and events that make the City With Soul shine. Today, we've freshened up and episode - a conversation my colleague Yolanda Clay-Moore has a conversation with the 22nd head coach of the Jackson State University Tigers, TC Taylor. Coach Taylor talks about his lifelong preparation for the job and he recruits players and coaches for the team. And to say the coach understands the gravity of the big shoes he's filling, all that might be an understatement.

Coach Taylor:
To know all the previous coaches that had so much success here at a program like Jackson State. And you know what I say, the Mecca of HBCU football, a contender in the FCS, to be the 22nd head coach is a dream of mine. I always wanted to have an opportunity to come back here and have an opportunity to lead this program and continue success with these players, this city. It means a lot to me.

Yolanda:
When you played here, was that ever a dream?

Coach Taylor:
Not as a player. My dream was to get to the NFL. I was trying to make that next step to the next level. I never really even considered coaching then.

Yolanda:
Yeah.

Coach Taylor:
The dream of mine was just playing at Jackson State. I grew up a fan. My sister went here, so I was here a lot as a young kid, growing up in the stands, and to get opportunity to play in the Vet was something that I always dreamed of. But I never really thought I was going to get into coaching until later on. But those times, everybody had dreams of going pro.

Yolanda:
But with that being said, you're well-prepared.

Coach Taylor:
Oh, definitely. Definitely, definitely. I'm, what, almost 20 years into this thing, coaching, so I've been at a lot of places, had a lot of success last year, winning a SWAC Championship. I think that's my fifth conference championship in college football. Been around a lot of great coaches on all levels. Done some things in the NFL. College football, junior college football; so, it's a moment that I've been preparing for a while.

Yolanda:
You came in, obviously, behind Coach Prime's tenure here and you kind of had a blank slate, from players to personnel, for your coaching staff. So how did you go about identifying who was right for your program, be it a player or someone on your coaching staff?

Coach Taylor:
This has been five years in the making for me, so I've always prepared myself for this moment. I never wanted this moment to get on me and not be ready. I always knew what type of players I wanted. I want big, physical players that could run. Coaches, I wanted guys that knew the Xs and Os, but were great mentors to the young men, as well. So I always kept a little book of guys that I would cross in the coaching path, like, "If I was a head coach, I want that guy." All the great players that I was able to coach as a position coach or coordinator, I was like, "That's how that position's supposed to look. That's how I want my quarterback to play."

Yolanda:
We have a lot of eyes on us, for obvious reasons.

Coach Taylor:
Mm-hmm.

Yolanda:
And it's all not been positive. But you kind of experienced the highs and the lows of this season. The season opener against South Carolina State we won, didn't do so well with Fam U, but then we came back and beat our rivals Southern Baton Rogue. And so you've gone from them chanting "TC, TC" to "I'm not sure, I don't know if he's the right one." Or, "maybe we need to change the quarterback." So how do you deal with that?

Coach Taylor:
Yeah.

Yolanda:
But what's your take on that?

Coach Taylor:
I don't listen to the naysayers, because the players and the coaches decide. We work our butts off, like I tell these coaches and players: "Everybody in the building that touches this program, if we work our butts off, that's going to be half the battle." If you get them listening and hearing a lot of the outside noise, you're going to go to believing it.

Yolanda:
Right.

Coach Taylor:
So I try to keep that block out. I don't read a lot of newspaper clippings and get caught in the listening. I'm going to do it my way. I'm going to trust the people that surround me on a everyday basis, and I'm going to trust what I see in these players. A lot of people ask me, like, "Man, you're like night and day from Prime." I keep to myself. I keep it real simple. I don't talk a lot. But it's been wonderful. It's been a whirlwind though. It's been a lot going on, a lot of moving parts, but I'm up for the challenge in the city that I love. I love the city of Jackson. I love Mississippi. This is home. I like positive vibes around me. If you know me, I'm always smiling. I always got that smile on my face. And I know me, as the leader, the people under me are looking at that.

Yolanda:
That's so true, because you truly set the tone for your whole program.

Coach Taylor:
Yeah, definitely

Yolanda:
I've had the privilege to be a part of your recruiting team. At least I'm saying I'm a part of your recruiting team. But I've seen you in action, Coach. I won't say the player, but this recruit, he was there and you spoke to his mom.

Coach Taylor:
Okay.

Yolanda:
She gave the okay. And this is all by phone, now. And then, he called his father and you spoke to him and he gave the okay. He turned to look at you and said, "What are you saying to my parents?"

Coach Taylor:
I remember that. I remember that.

Yolanda:
So, give us a little insight as to how you go about securing these commits.

Coach Taylor:
I always tell myself and my staff, "Let's make sure we recruiting the parents as well," because they got to be assured that they're sons are coming into a good situation and they're going to be taken care of and we got their best mindset at heart. I tell them about the city. How we're doing good things around here. Tell them about the program and the plan that we have in store for them in order to get that education, and also to get them to the pros. You can't just sit up and recruit a kid. You got to let the moms know, the dads know, that everything is going to be okay on a day-to-day basis, because, look, I mean, four years here, they're not here with them.

Yolanda:
Right. Right.

Coach Taylor:
So we turn into those parents. And like I told them that night, I said, "It's like a relay race. I'm running the last leg for you right now, and it's time for you to hand that baton off me." So we going to do continue to do a good job recruiting these parents as well, because when we take a young man in, we're taking in their mom, dad, grandma, grandfathers in as well.

Yolanda:
As the parent of a former athlete, I completely understand. Now, let's switch gears here: what do you think is special about Jackson?

Coach Taylor:
Man. The love. It's the love. Everybody don't really understand, far as being a player here and a coach, how the people come out and support one another. That, to me, is what's special. Also, the food. Let me say that, too. I had sneak that one in there because I love to eat. But the support and just how everybody got everybody back in the city.

Yolanda:
Yeah.

Coach Taylor:
It's a great city to come to, and like I said, it's always something going on to be entertained. You got great people around the city. And I use it in recruiting. I talk to the parents about it. Everybody got each other back around here. We look out for one another and you know you're going to have a great time while you're here.

Yolanda:
We'd like to thank the 22nd head coach of the Jackson State University for joining us today. And we hope that you'll take an opportunity to meet us at the vet. The first home game is September 23rd against Bethune Cookman in the W.C. Gorden Classic. We also have a game on October 14th against Alabama State, which is homecoming, Texas Southern on November the 4th, and the all time rival, the Soul Bowl Classic - Alcorn University - on November 18th and, of course, we're expecting to be in the Cricket SWAC Championship on December 2nd in Atlanta.

Paul Wolf:
That’s my colleague Yolanda Clay Moore with JSU head coach TC Taylor in an interview we edited from earlier this year. Remember Saturday is our first home game at the Vet. Watch for extra traffic, be patient around town and drive safely. We’ll see you in the stands and on the streets, showing your Tiger pride!

Soul Sessions is produced by Visit Jackson, the destination organization for Mississippi's capital city. Our executive producers are Jonathan Pettus and Dr. Rickey Thigpen, and I'm our managing editor. You want to know more about our mission and what we do? You can log on to our website: it's at Visitjackson.com. I'm Paul Wolf and you've been listening to Soul Sessions.

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